Hello,
You have fallen into a classic trap. The selling price of real estate is regularly undervalued by unscrupulous sellers. What makes that after the purchaser receives a nice letter of the service of the Belgian finances ...
Tax provisions on the sincerity of the price
When reading the deed of sale, the notary reads to sellers and purchasers Article 203 of the Registration Rights Code relating to concealments in the price or the market value of the immovable.Article 203: In case of concealment of the price and the charges or the conventional value, it is due individually by each of the contracting parties a fine equal to the right evaded. This is indivisibly due by all parties.This provision specifies above all that the parties must declare in the act the price that was actually agreed, because it is on this basis that the administration of the registration is calculate the registration fee. Declaring a price lower than the agreed price constitutes tax evasion, and the administration could be fined by both parties. The administration has very little control over whether the price is correct. It may therefore, by virtue of that same provision, tax, not on the basis of the price, but on the basis of the value of the immovable. After any sale, the registrar starts a small survey, and tries to estimate the value of the property sold. It is based on the size of the building, its volume, the cadastral income, the date of construction, and, above all, the sale price of similar buildings recently sold in the neighborhood. If he considers that the price declared in the deed is less than the normal value of the immovable, he sends to the purchaser a notice stating the insufficiency of estimate, and invites him to pay within the month a right complementary, but also a fine. In order to notify his opinion, the receiver has a period of two years from the date of registration of the document.
How to react ?
The notice sent by the receiver is often misinterpreted: Many buyers think that it is an automatic imposition, and pay. At this time, it is too late to file a claim. In reality, it is only a proposal for additional taxation on the part of the recipient. Everyone has the right to defend himself, and the purchaser can challenge the value proposed by the administration. The receiver must first be asked to justify himself: he will produce his points of comparison and the other elements at his disposal. Feeling helpless, the buyer will often ask the opinion of his notary who will assist him in the "after-sales" service that the notary is willing to make to his customers. If the sale has been negotiated by a real estate agent who is also a certified expert, his opinion will also be sought. The acquirer may also find other more favorable points of comparison. If, within the framework of the loan requested for the acquisition of the house, an expertise has been carried out, it can always serve as an element of appreciation. If the acquired building is in very bad condition, the purchaser can invite the recipient to visit it.
The buyer will sometimes find that the receiver is right: He made a deal by buying the building at a good price. He will have to pay the additional duties. Of course, he will not have to pay anything more to the seller who has been content with a lower price. Sometimes the receiver accepts the arguments of the acquirer, and gives up. However, in most situations, the receiver and the purchaser will agree that the actual value must be between the price paid and declared and the amount of the estimate of the administration: one will transact on an intermediate value: At this moment the purchaser will pay a reduced additional fee by negotiating the amount of the fine.
Prepare his defense!
Renovations may be carried out before receiving the notice from the receiver. It will be too late to ask him to notice the bad state of the house: the buyer will have to prove that he bought a house in bad condition, and that he himself brought a surplus value to his property. All the proofs are good: the ads published in the press with the price offered, the invoices of the trades who worked, the notes of purchases of materials in supermarkets for the work that is done so- same, photos of the damage existing at the time of acquisition, but repaired since then. If the purchaser has a complete file, he can more easily discuss with the administration.
Control expertise
After discussions with the receiver, everyone can stay on their positions: the receiver maintains its estimate, and the purchaser refuses to admit a reassessment, the parties will have to appoint an expert whose report will be binding parties. If the expert gives reason to the purchaser, there will obviously be no additional fee payable, and the costs of the expertise will be borne by the administration. On the other hand, if the expert gives reason to the administration, setting a value even slightly higher than the price included in the act, the collector may collect the additional duty, and a fine that will not be subject to any reduction. In addition, the costs of the expertise will be borne by the purchaser.
Report spontaneously
Sometimes the buyer is aware that the price offered by the seller is lower than the value of the building; for example, to sell quickly, the seller consents a sharp reduction in price. In order to avoid any problem, he may ask the collector to collect his entitlement on the basis of a higher value than the price. It will suffice to add to the deed a supplementary tax declaration which will be signed only by the purchaser.
